


Five Times Ned Takes Care of Peter and One Time Peter Returns the Favor

by limitlessyongie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: (but if you want it could be read as romantic), (or at least them having a crush on each other), 5+1 Things, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Ned Leeds, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Platonic Relationships, Precious Ned Leeds, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Ned Leeds, everyone else has a brief role, mentions of minor character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 01:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18510907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limitlessyongie/pseuds/limitlessyongie
Summary: Since the two met in fourth grade, Peter was always known to have gotten hurt in any shape or form. Good thing Ned’s there to pick him back up.Of course, it was only a matter of time before Peter returned the favor._5+1 things because I find them cute.





	1. First Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you crying?” Ned blurted out. Startled, the boy looked up and Ned immediately noted that it was Peter.
> 
> Despite the tears clearly running down his snot filled, tear stained, red face, Peter shook his head. 
> 
> -  
> Ned and Peter meet for the first time in the fourth grade.

Today was a very exciting day for Ned. Well, at least that’s what his mom told him. “You’re in  _ 4th grade _ , honey! Isn’t that exciting _? _ ” In all honesty, it really wasn’t for him. Sure, he was getting older and the teachers were nice, but everything at school was just plain  _ boring.  _ Science class, despite being Ned’s favorite subject, ultimately stuck to simple projects that couldn’t even really be considered science (they were kids, after all, so it isn’t like much could be done in the first place). His classmates, though were never really mean to him, didn’t shared  _ any  _ of Ned’s interests. Come on, who wouldn’t rather play with Legos than play outside? ( _ All of the other kids, apparently _ , Ned thought bitterly). 

Still, his mom seemed to think today was an important day and so, despite whatever feelings he had, Ned plastered a smile on his face for his mother’s sake. Hopefully something interesting would today.

____

Funny enough, something interesting  _ did  _ happen today. 

Ned walked into school, with one hand clutched onto the strap of his Star Wars bag as the other held onto his mother’s hand. He didn’t really need to hold her hand, he was nine after all, but his mom insisted. Ned knew it was pointless to argue with her. 

Ned and his mom greeted the lady at the front desk, who gave Ned a sticker with the name “Ms. Cohen”, written on it. Afterwards, the front desk lady directed the pair to the auditorium where the students would await for their teachers. Ned gave a quick hug to his mom (not before taking a few pictures, of course) and made his way inside. The boy scanned the room, looking for his teacher’s name marked on one of the rows of seats. Once he did, Ned quickly took his seat and watched the rest of the students poor in.

 

_ Oh look, I have class with Cindy and Sally again,  _ Ned thought.  _ Better them than stupid Flash.  _

 

Ned quickly grew bored of staring at his classmates. With only two teachers per grade at a small school, and the  _ same  _ classmates, he didn’t really have any reason to care who was in his class. That is until… 

“Listen up, students!” Ms. Cohen stated as she gathered her students. “We have a new kid joining us. Just like the rest of you, he grew up in Queens but just transferred from another elementary school. Why don’t you introduce yourself, sweetheart?”

Ned’s eyes followed Ms. Cohen as she turned to a small boy standing next to her. With his short height and small frame, Ned wasn’t exactly surprised that he hadn’t noticed the boy sooner. He studied the boy a little more and noticed that the other was a white boy with curly brown locks and dark brown eyes. His clothes seemed to hang off of him and he clenched tightly onto his school bag. He looked  _ nervous. _

 

“My name is Peter Parker,” the boy stated timidly. 

 

_ Interesting name, Peter. I hope we could become friends. _

____

The day passed by fairly quickly and pretty soon students were running outside for recess. Unlike the rest of them, Ned preferred to stay in the classroom to eat and play with Legos, which thankfully Ms. Cohen allowed. Ned was typically the only one who did this, so he was surprised to see another kid in the class as well. He couldn’t make out who it was, seeing as the boy’s face was hidden in his hands, shaking, and- 

“Are you crying?” Ned blurted out. Startled, the boy looked up and Ned immediately noted that it was Peter.

Despite the tears  _ clearly  _ running down his snot filled, tear stained, red face, Peter shook his head. 

 

“You don’t have to lie to me. I won’t tell on you, I promise.” 

 

Peter thought for a moment before muttering, “it’s stupid.” Okay, so this would take a bit more effort.  _ It’s okay,  _ Ned thought,  _ he seems really nice and I don’t want him to be sad. Maybe Lego’s will help? _

“Do you wanna play with my Legos? I’ve got the Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Booster Ring set if you like Star Wars.” Peter seemed to have forgotten that he was upset in the first place and eagerly nodded his head. Ned smiled and sat on the seat next to the small boy before setting down his set. Together, the two started putting the pieces together. While it was a bit quiet for Ned’s liking, Peter wasn’t crying so he counted that as a win. Moments later, Peter spoke up:

“I was crying because its my first day here and everyone was giving me weird faces. I know i’m tiny, shy and new here, but that doesn’t mean I have to be looked at differently.” Peter crossed his arms and pouted, which Ned internally found to be too cute. He threw an arm around Peter’s shoulder and smiled.

“Don’t listen to the others! So what if your shy? I rather be friends with you than those  _ boring  _ people. You like Legos and Star Wars like me, so you’re cool! I’ll even be your  _ best friend! _ Don’t be sad, okay?” 

Peter grinned, happy to have made at least one friend that didn’t seem to mind him for who he was. Nothing could separate them.

____

Six years later, Peter climbs in the apartment through his bedroom window, clad in his Spider-Man suit before throwing off his mask. As quiet as possible, he crawls across the ceiling and closes his room door with his webs, in hopes of not drawing any attention from Aunt May. As he gets down onto the ground, Peter turns around and walks towards his bed, only to be met with a shocked Ned.

Mouth agape, Ned drops The Lego Death Star set to the ground. 

“You’re the Spider-Man. From YouTube.” 

Okay, and while Peter  _ definitely  _ had a lot of explaining to do, Ned couldn’t exactly stay mad at his best friend. After all, this was the coolest thing ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this officially marks my first Spidey fic (or any fic outside the kpop fandom). Because of that, I hope you guys can take it easy on me for any inaccuracies or whatever lol. 
> 
> I do all proof-reading myself, so I’m bound to make some mistakes. If you find any, please kindly point that out to me! English is one of three languages that I speak, and I struggle in grammar, etc in all three. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! 
> 
> Twitter: @limitlessyongie


	2. Anniversary of Ben's Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned prides himself in being Peter’s best friend. After having met in the fourth grade, the two had become inseparable. Wherever Ned went, Peter went, and vice-versa. It was really nice having someone he could count on for anything, and he knew Peter shared the same sentiment. The two prided themselves in knowing each other well enough that nothing could be hidden from each other. (Well, besides the fact that Peter hid that he was Spider-Man. Ned was only slightly hurt that he wasn’t informed sooner, but after becoming Spidey’s “guy in the chair,” he didn’t have any more complaints.)
> 
> So yes, the two were stuck together like glue since day one. Peter was the only one who understood Ned completely, and Ned was the same with Peter.
> 
> Which is why Ned felt like an idiot for not realizing his friend wasn’t fine sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As seen in the title, this has to do with Ben's death. Peter is hurting pretty badly here. There's yelling, mentions of character death and how said person died, a shit ton of crying, and self-hate. Therefore, there's a lot more angst compared to the first chapter. With that being said, if something like this triggers you, I do not advise you reading this chapter. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy! (if I missed any tags, please let me know! I tried to get them all as I do not want to cause any harm to any reader, but please know that I am human and make mistakes).

Ned prides himself in being Peter’s best friend. After having met in the fourth grade, the two had become  _ inseparable.  _ Wherever Ned went, Peter went, and vice-versa. It was really nice having someone he could count on for anything, and he knew Peter shared the same sentiment. The two prided themselves in knowing each other well enough that nothing could be hidden from each other. (Well, besides the fact that Peter  _ hid  _ that he was Spider-Man. Ned was only slightly hurt that he wasn’t informed sooner, but after becoming Spidey’s “guy in the chair,” he didn’t have any more complaints.)

So yes, the two were stuck together like glue since day one. Peter was the only one who understood Ned completely, and Ned was the same with Peter.

Which is why Ned felt like an idiot for not realizing his friend wasn’t  _ fine  _ sooner. 

Looking back at it, the day had begun a little strange. Normally Ned waited in front of the school for Peter who, despite his powers, barely made it to school on time. Together, they’d walk in, rush to their lockers, and then would make their way to first period. Today, it was halfway through first period and Peter still hadn’t shown up. Initially, Ned thought that Peter had gotten hurt during a mission the night before, but Karen hadn’t said anything, so maybe he was just panicking. (Technically, Ned shouldn’t have access to the AI in the suit, but being the concerned friend that he was, Ned hacked the suit to receive updates. So far nobody knew and he planned on keeping it that way.)

Before he could continue to worry himself on the worst scenarios, a knock came at the door. Peter quietly shuffled in and handed the teacher a note as he made his way towards his seat. Peter wasn’t hurt, but he looked like  _ hell.  _ Peter had thrown on a random pair of sweats and hoodie and hadn’t even bothered to fix his bed hair. He looked drained, and Ned was a little worried. It was strange. Peter never liked to miss class unless it was for Spider emergencies, and certainly never looked this  _ bad _ .  _ Maybe he just woke up late,  _ Ned thought.  _ I’ll ask him about it during lunch. _

____

 

So maybe the events in the morning should’ve rung some sort of alarm in Ned’s head. 

Lunch rolled around and the pair sat together at their table, far away from the rest of the students. Peter still looked like shit, so Ned tried his best to distract his friend. He went off about anything on his mind, in hopes that Peter would at least crack a small smile.

 

“-then bam! My cousin runs straight into the wall and falls down. My aunt is freaking out cause he laid on the floor, bleeding, and not moving for a minute straight. Out of nowhere he just jumps right back up as if nothing happened! You should’ve seen my aunt’s face when -- dude, are you okay?” 

 

As if it was even possible, Peter’s face paled until he looked as white as a ghost. His whole body was shaking, but despite that, he concentrated on something behind Ned. Ned turned around, and realized Peter was watching the news displayed on the tv screen:

 

**_“Officer Mendez shot and killed while attempting to stop a burglar.”_ **

 

Ned turned back around as Peter stuffed all of his schoolwork into his bag, before making his way out of the cafeteria. Concerned, Ned followed Peter as the younger boy made his way to the school’s entrance.

 

“Peter, wait up! Where are you going? You can’t just skip school!” 

 

To no avail, Peter still made his way outside of the school. Still, he had the decency to throw Ned a slightly apologetic look (which was quickly overcome by anger, Ned realized a bit too late), and ran until Ned could no longer make out his figure.

Okay, now he was really worried.

____

 

As much as he wanted to, Ned couldn’t just run out of school to follow Peter, so he reluctantly stayed behind. The moment the final bell rang, Ned bolted out of his seat and began his journey to Peter’s apartment. He made sure to shoot both his mother and May a text that he was going over, and especially made sure to fill in May on his concern over Peter. (Unfortunately, she hadn’t answered.  _ Must be working the long shift today. _ ) 

After what felt like forever, Ned finally made it to Peter’s apartment. He quickly made his way up and inside the apartment. As quietly as possible, Ned walked into Peter’s room as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come. 

He didn’t exactly know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t  _ this.  _

Peter’s room was absolutely  _ trashed _ . There were books and papers scattered all over the floor, every Lego piece he put together were thrown all over the room, hell even his clothes somehow made their way out of the closet. To top it all off, Peter was curled up into a ball on his bed, blankly staring at the wall.

This was really scaring Ned. The Filipino boy racked his brain for  _ anything  _ that may have set Peter off this week, but he couldn’t think of much.  _ Flash was being a dick as always, everything was fine in decathlon, and he hadn’t mentioned anything going bad on patrol or with Stark. So what could’ve-” _

It suddenly clicked in his head. One look at the calendar on his phone was enough to confirm Ned’s thoughts. 

 

“It’s been a year since Ben died.” Shit! He meant to say that in his head! Still, Peter hadn’t responded. The elder made his way to Peter’s bed and carefully sat next to him.

 

“Shit, Peter. I’m so sorry I hadn’t realized it sooner. I’m here now and we’ll get through the rest of the day together, okay? I just need you to respond.” Peter hadn’t answered, but instead turned to face away from Ned. So a different approach was needed. That’s fine, there’s nothing Ned couldn’t handle when it came to Peter.

 

“Okay, you don’t have to talk. That’s fine! How about I clean up a bit and make you something to eat while you shower? I know everything sucks right now, but a warm bath will make you feel ni-”

 

“I don’t want to. Just let me lay here in peace, okay? I just want to be left alone! Is that so much to ask for?!” Ned was startled at Peter’s outburst, but he didn’t let it show. It scared him to see his best friend like this. Knowing that this wouldn’t work either, he decided it was time to call in the big guns. 

“Okay,” Ned replied softly. “I’m just gonna step out and make you something for later while you cool down.” He got up, quietly exited the room and went straight into the kitchen. Ned made sure Peter hadn’t followed before pulling out his phone to call May. However, before he could even press the “call” button, his phone was snatched out of his hands (or rather, pull by a freaking  _ web _ ) by a very angry Peter.

 

“What the hell where you doing?!? Where you trying to call May?”

 

“Yeah, I was. Peter you were completely out of it and I was con-”

 

“I don’t need you to be concerned for me!” His voice grew louder. “I just want you to leave me alone! Why can’t you do that?”

 

“Because I care about you, asshole,” Ned snapped. “And no matter how much you try and push me away, I’m not going anywhere!” 

 

“You shouldn’t  _ waste  _ your time on me. You can’t help me.”

 

“Peter, I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong. Don’t shut me out,  _ please. _ ” 

 

This only seemed to infuriate the curly-haired boy even further. Ned knew that Ben’s death had hurt Peter deeply. After all, the man took care of the boy for  _ years. _ They’d talked about the day a few times, mostly in the first few months because nothing had pained Peter more than the tragedy. Even so, Peter typically remained level headed or even tried to stop himself from feeling on those days. Not once, however, had Peter ever  _ lashed  _ out. Peter was furious and Ned was scared. 

 

“Ben died because of  _ me! _ ” Peter yelled, fists clenched. “I was there, I had these  _ stupid  _ powers, and I  _ froze  _ as he jumped in front of  _ me  _ to protect me from the robber. He got  _ shot  _ and  _ died  _ in my arms, and it’s all my fault _.” _

 

Oh.  _ Oh .  _

 

Ned’s throat dried up. He was at a loss for words. Peter seemed to notice this and sighed. The younger boy un-clenched his fists, though he remained tense. Finally, after the awkward silence, he spoke:

 

“Look, I appreciate you wanting to help me, but you shouldn’t have to. I don’t  _ deserve  _ it.” That seemed to snap Ned out of it.

 

“You don’t deserve it? Peter, you out of all people  _ deserve _ to get help, especially after you’ve suffered. I knew Ben’s death hit you hard, but I had no idea that you were dealing with this on top of that. You don’t have to go through this alone, Peter. What happened that day was not your fault, okay? The asshole who pulled the trigger was to blame, not you.” 

 

“But I had my powers then! I could’ve stopped the guy! Even if I didn’t, the gun was pointed at me. It should’ve been  _ me. _ ”

 

If it hadn’t before, Ned certainly felt his heart drop then. His sweet, sweet Peter felt this way and Ned didn’t know whether he should start crying or not. Ben’s death hurt everyone close to him. For days, Peter and May were  _ hysterical.  _ Getting either to sleep or eat had been a feat that Ned had not once regretted being there for. It hurt to see his best friend and aunt that way, so he made sure to help them out as much as possible. (It took some convincing from his parents to let him sleep over that whole week. While they were reluctant, they also realized how much Peter and May needed someone by their side during the time. Eventually, they agreed). He cooked and cleaned whenever he could. He made sure that May took off at least a week at work, and was tasked with making sure she got to sleep at a decent time. Every day, Ned had brought over Peter’s school work so that he wouldn’t be too behind upon his return. Most importantly, he made sure to hold Peter through every nightmare the boy had from that point on. (Peter never really remembered those days, but Ned never really minded).

Ben was important to Ned, and so was May. But Peter, Peter from fourth grade and on, meant the world to him. He’d rather be damned than to not be there for his friend.

 

“Peter Benjamin Parker, listen to me closely,” Ned started. “What happened to Ben shouldn’t have happened. I am so sorry that he was shot and killed, but he did it protecting you. Sure, you had your powers, but wasn’t it like two weeks after the Oscorp trip?” Peter nodded weakly. 

 

“Two weeks. Two weeks with your powers and I’m pretty sure you had no idea how to really use them then, am I right?” This time, he didn’t wait for a response. “Two weeks and even with your powers, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything. You can’t blame yourself for that. Peter, you were a kid and still are. There are some things that you shouldn’t have had to deal with, but unfortunately you did. 

 

But to blame yourself to the point of wishing it should’ve been  _ you? _ Okay, say that you were the one who was shot and killed. Then what? You would be  _ dead _ and May, Ben, and I would have been burying  _ your  _ body. How do you think they would’ve taken that? Ben would probably be beating himself up as much as you are. Would you want that?” Peter shook his head.

 

“He wouldn’t want that for you either. I will never be able to understand how much pain you’re in. But Peter, he did what he did because he wanted to protect you. I know that he didn’t regret doing it because you meant everything to him. ( _ you mean everything to me _ ). He’d do it all over again because he loved you and he would always do so.

 

You’re allowed to hurt. Hell, I’d be surprised if you didn’t feel some type of way after what happened. But dwelling on the  _ what ifs  _ won’t bring him back, and certainly won’t help you. I know he’s not here, but he’ll always be watching over you. As for what you  _ do  _ have now? You have May, you have Mr. Stark, and you have me. So  _ please,  _ let me be your best friend and help you.”

 

That seemed to do it for Peter. The tears had begun to stream out, and all the anger had turned into pure sadness. The poor boy was shaking and sobbing. Immediately, Ned went over to his best friend and pulled him into a hug. The younger hid his face into Ned’s neck and continued to sob. The pair stood there for a while, Ned rubbing reassuring circles into Peter’s back as both cried. Eventually, Peter’s sobs became sniffles and hiccups. 

 

“Just keep breathing for me. I got you.” A moment later, Peter pulled away slightly.

 

“I’m sorry I got your shirt full of snot and tears. You left a spare shirt during our last sleepover if you want to change.” Ned laughed.

 

“The shirt is the least of my worries, Peter. I just want to make sure that you’re okay.” Peter shook his head.

 

“I’m not okay, Ned. I don’t think I have been in a while,” he whispered. 

 

“And that’s okay. Like I said, you have people here to help you, even though you don’t feel like you deserve it. Not to push you though, but I think you should really talk to May, or even a therapist about this. Maybe Mr. Stark could find you one that deals with all of the superheroes so that you wouldn’t have to worry about your identity being outed.” Peter nodded.

 

“Yeah, I don’t feel like I deserve it. But I’ll try for you, for May, and for myself. Right now though I think I just want to sleep this off. All of the screaming and crying, which I’m still sorry about by the way, wore me out.”

 

“Dude, no worries. Yeah, I think it’s definitely time for you to go to bed. Why don’t you head over while I clean-”

 

“NO!” Peter blushed at his outburst. “Sorry, why can’t we just leave that for tomorrow? It’s getting late and we don’t have school tomorrow anyways so we could just do it then. Could you just text your mom that you’re staying over? I really don’t wanna be alone right now.” Noticing that Peter looked nervous, Ned reassured his friend that it was alright. After shooting his mom and May a quick text, the two teens headed to Peter’s room.

Everything was far from okay, but both teens knew that together, they’d be able to get through it.

____

 

May walked into the apartment tired, but she couldn’t focus on that at the moment. Instead, she knew she had to go check on Peter. After the numerous text she received from Ned, she was really worried about her nephew. She felt selfish for having worked a long shift to distract herself from Ben’s anniversary, but she thought that after allowing Peter to stay home from school to sleep, everything would be fine. Of course, she was wrong. 

She tried not to dwell on it to much as she made her way to Peter’s room. As she opened the door, she immediately noticed the mess that took over his room. And while she was really concerned, she couldn’t bring herself to wake Peter up as she noticed the cute sight before her. There laid out on the bottom bunk were the two teens. Peter, who normally slept sprawled out against the mattress, rested against Ned’s chest, who had a protective arm wrapped around Peter. This was a precious moment between the two friends, and May didn’t have the heart to wake them up.

There was certainly a lot of things to be discussed about the events that occurred before she arrived home. But for now, she and her nephew really needed some sleep. Everything was mainly okay while they slept. Everything else could be dealt with in the morning.

So, without making any noise, May stepped out of Peter’s room and walked to her own.

(Also, if May had taken a bunch of pictures of the two cuddling in their sleep, nobody needed to know.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really expect this chapter to be as long as it was, but here we are. I think I may have made this a little less platonic-like with certain word choices, but I guess that's also up to the reader on how they wish to see it. It is supposed to be platonic, but I am not opposed to it being seen as romantic (or the beginning of romantic feelings for each other). I really hope you all enjoyed this! Once again, feedback is very much appreciated! 
> 
> Twitter: @limitlessyongie


End file.
